Sightings05/03/2018

Harbour Update – posted 04/03/18

Did it really snow a couple of days ago? By the end of today you’d be fooled into thinking it was all some kind of weird dream. The only evidence that the freakish weather event actually took place was due to the fact some odd birds were still about in odd places. Golden Plovers were still about with 3 out on Baiter, 1 on the Brownsea Lagoon and 1 on Arne Moors. Lapwing were still moving about in reasonable numbers with small flocks passing Poole Quay, Holes Bay and Lytchett Fields. On Poole Park boating lake there were 14 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Merganser and a drake Pintail still. In the Wareham Channel area there were 3 Hen Harrier briefly (2 males and a ringtail) and a Bittern was seen on the northern side of the Piddle and another was seen leaving Swineham at dusk…the first departure of the spring. In St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham 2 Hawfinch were feeding on the ground and along Holme Lane at dawn another Hawfinch flew east over ‘the egret field’ as did 4 Woodlark and 3 Reed Bunting. Decent sized Fieldfare and Redwing flocks were noted around the harbour with 200 in East Holme, 200 in fields along the A35 Upton dual carriage way and good numbers still at Arne. For early March Holes Bay NE was packed on the falling tide late afternoon with 1 Spotted Redshank in its usual spot by the out flow but also c400 Wigeon, c100 Avocet, c50 Teal, c40 Pintail and a good spread of Redshank, Curlew and black-tailed Godwit. Like else where around the county there were a few reports of dead birds that had suffered due to the cold with a dead Shelduck in Holes Bay and a dead Lapwing near Bestwall. 

Hawfinch – St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham – Peter Moore

Hawfinch – St Mary’s churchyard, Wareham – Peter Moore

Lapwing – Holes Bay NE – Rene Goad (02/03/18)

Blackcap – Poole garden – Rene Goad (02/03/18)

Greenshank – Holes Bay NE – Rene Goad (02/03/18)

Shag – Poole Harbour – Keith Rawling

 

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